Above ground gas-insulated pipe type transmission configuration

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for both supporting and protecting pipe enclosed bus runs of the multi-phase type. A single vertical support with appropriate support arms maintains the conduits in a delta arrangement. Protective baffle plates envelop the deltaconfigured bus housings to shield them from sunlight and hence maintain them at cooler temperatures, to protect the bus runs against damage and to promote convection cooling.

United States Patent 11 1 Perry ABOVE GROUND GAS-INSULATED PIPE TYPETRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION Eliiah Robert Perry, S cottdale, Pa.

I-T-E Imperial Corporation, Spring House, Pa.

Filed: Jan. 11, 1973 Appl. No.: 322,718

Inventor:

Assignee:

US. Cl. 174/16 B, 138/108, 174/27, 174/40 R, 174/99 B Int. Cl. 1101b9/06 Field of Search 174/27, 28, 29, l6 13, 174/99 B, 99 R, 37, 40 R, 45R, 138/106, 108

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1972 Rehder 174/16 B2/1972 Fujisaki et al... 174/16 B 6/1971 Albright 174/37 7/1968Whitehead... 174/28 1451 Sept. 25, 1973 3,361,870 171968 Whitehead mm x3,164,667 l/l965 Frowein 174/27 2,306,527 12/1942 06111618 174/16 B2,173,717 9/1939 Hobart 174/27 ux 1,037,522, 9/1912 Pindtershofen 174/273,349,168 7 10/1967 Rehder et a1 174/99 B Primary ExaminerBernard A.Gilheany Assistant Examiner-A. T. Grimley Attorney-Sidney G. Faber eta1.

[57] ABSTRACT An arrangement for both supporting and protecting pipeenclosed bus runs of the multi-phase type. A single vertical supportwith appropriate support arms maintains the conduits in a deltaarrangement. Protective baffle plates envelop the delta-configured bushousings to shield them from sunlight and hence maintain them at coolertemperatures, to protect the bus runs against damage and to promoteconvection cooling.

2 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure ABOVE GROUND GAS-INSULATED PIPE TYPETRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION The present invention relates to high-voltagebus runs and more particularly to high-voltage bus runs of themulti-phase type and a mounting and protective structure therefor toprotect the bus run against damage to promote efficiency of the bus runand to simplify the bus run supporting assembly design and installation,I

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The conventional approach to mountingtransmission systems'for above ground bus'runs is to build supportingracks of metal upon which the bus enclosures are mounted in side-by-sidearrangement so as to have an enticing target for vandals and huntersresulting in costly repairs, as well as being susceptible to. damage dueto accidentalcauses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS Support poles arearranged along the bus runs, with each being provided with cross armssecured thereto for supporting the three phases of the bus run in adelta configuration. Protective plates and baffles are secured indiagonal fashion along the sides of the bus runs to shield the bus runagainst direct sunlight and to protect it against accidental damage ordamage due to vandalism. The side plates, in shielding the bus fromsunlight, thereby reduce the operating temperature of the bus run,increasing its current carrying capability. The side plates furtherfacilitate constant air flow around and about the bus housings tofacilitate convection cooling thereof and to prevent condensation fromforming on the housing surfaces.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a novelsupport and protection assembly for bus runs of a multi-phase type, toprotect the bus run against damage to enhance operating efficiency andto further reduce the size of right-of-way required for the bus run.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The sole FIGURE is an elevational viewof a bus run embodying the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE The sole FIGURE shows a bus run andsupport assembly 10 comprised of an isolated phase bus arrangement ofthe three-phase type, in which each of the phases is comprised of acentral current carrying conductor lla, llb, and 11c, surrounded by aconcentrically aligned conductive grounded housing 12a, 12b, and 12crespectively. Although not shown for purposes of simplicity, the centralconductors Ila-11c are maintained in concentric arrangement with theirgrounded conductive housing by means of disc-shaped insulating spacersarranged at spaced intervals along each bus run. A suitable spacingconfiguration, for example, is shown in detail in U. S.-Pat. No.3,573,341, issued Apr.

6, I971, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

The three phases are maintained in a delta configuration by means of asupport assembly, comprised of a single vertically aligned post member13, driven into the ground G to a depth suitable for providing adequatesupporting strength for the assembly. Secured to post 113 are a pair ofcross arms M and 15, mounted to post 113 by any suitable fasteningscheme. The cross arms M and 15 are preferably provided withwedge-shaped supports 16, secured to the cross arms by suitablefastening means so as to position and support each of the groundedconductive housings in the manner shown.

Support structures such as the post 13 and cross arms 14 and IS, withtheir wedge-shaped supporting member 16, are mounted at spaced intervalsalong the elongated bus run, with the spacing between supports beingjudiciously selected to provide adequate support for the phases of thebus run to prevent the portions of the bus structures extending betweensupport structures from sagging or otherwise deflecting from asubstantially straight line orientation.

Protective plates 17 and 18 are secured by means of angle brackets 19 tothe cross arms M and 15, so as to form a substantially triangular shapedsidewall structure which may be painted or camouflaged or colored foraesthetic purposes. Plates l7 and 18 form a continuous substantiallyunbroken sidewall structure over the entire length of the bus run.Obviously, for practical reasons, the side plates may be of finitelength, with a plurality of such plates being arranged in end-to-endfashion to cumulatively form a continuous sidewall structure. The plates117 and I8 are positioned at a spaced distance from the conductivegrounded housings l2a-]l2c, so as to permit the free flow of air aroundand between each of the housings. The plates 17 and 18 protect each ofthe phases from heat radiation from the sun, which is sufficient tolower the operating temperature of the bus and thereby provide anaccompanying increase in their current carrying capabilities.

Due to the high voltage and current ratings of the bus, the heatgenerated by the bus is significantly higher than the ambient conditionof the air surrounding the bus. This causes the ambient air to beheated. The heated air rises, and passes outwardly through the gap 20provided at the upper end of plates 17 and rs. If desired the gap 20 maybe filled with an extension of plate 18, identified as plate section 1%,which may be louvered as shown at 211 to permit the free flow of airtherethrough, while substantially preventing the ingress of water ormoisture therethrough.

The flow of heated air outwardly through gap It) causes an inrush ofcooler air through the open bottom end of the structure, resulting inconvectioncooling of the bus run. Arrows A show the flow of air currentsthrough the bus run and supporting structure. The constant flow of airthrough the structure further helps to prevent condensation from formingon the conduc tive housings, thereby significantly retarding thecorrosion of the housings.

The protective plates may be formed of any suitable materialcommensurate with the type of protection desired. For example, if it isdesired to protect against the rifle fire of hunters and the like, theplates may be formed of metal of a suitable thickness, whereas if thedanger of vandalism is small, the plates may be of substantially thinnergauge metal or may be formed of a suitable non-metallic material ofdesired thickness. The supporting structure significantly reduces thecost of materials and assembly, since only one post per supportstructure need be anchored into the ground. The structure shown in thesole FIGURE may also be employed in the bed of an ocean if desired, withsubstantially the same advantages accruing from such an arrangement.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novelinvention, many variations and modifications will now become apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited notby the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.

The embodiments of the invention is which an exclusive privilege orproperty is claimed are defined as follows. l. A support structure formulti-phase elongated bu runs, each phase comprised of a centralconductor and a concentric surrounding conductive housing with means formaintaining said conductor and said housing in their spaced concentricarrangement;

said support structure comprising a plurality of individual supportassemblies arranged at spaced intervals along said bus run, eachassembly comprising:

a vertically aligned post driven into the ground;

a plurality of cross-arms secured at spaced intervals along said post,each having means for positioning and'supporting at least one of saidphases;

a plurality of sideplates secured to the opposite free ends of thecrossarms of said spaced support assemblies and being oriented indiagonal fashion to form a substantially triangular shaped enclosure forsaid bus run;

the upper ends of the sideplates converging towards one another fromopposite sides of said support assemblies having a gap therebetween topermit the free flow of air exiting from the region between saidsideplates to provide for convection cooling of said bus run.

2. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said bus run comprises threephases;

two of said phases being supported upon one of said cross arms and theremaining phase being supported on another one of said cross arms,whereby said phases are arranged in a delta configuration.

1. A support structure for multi-phase elongated bus runs, each phasecomprised of a central conductor and a concentric surrounding conductivehousing with means for maintaining said conductor and said housing intheir spaced concentric arrangement; said support structure comprising aplurality of individual support assemblies arranged at spaced intervalsalong said bus run, each assembly comprising: a vertically aligned postdriven into the ground; a plurality of cross-arms secured at spacedintervals along said post, each having means for positioning andsupporting at least one of said phases; a plurality of sideplatessecured to the opposite free ends of the crossarms of said spacedsupport assemblies and being oriented in diagonal fashion to form asubstantially triangular shaped enclosure for said bus run; the upperends of the sideplates converging towards one another from oppositesides of said support assemblies having a gap therebetween to permit thefree flow of air exiting from the region between said sideplates toprovide for convection cooling of said bus run.
 2. The arrangement ofclaim 1 wherein said bus run comprises three phases; two of said phasesbeing supported upon one of said cross arms and the remaining phasebeing supported on another one of said cross arms, whereby said phasesare arranged in a ''''delta'''' configuration.